How to Anticipate 'Unexpected' Expenses

Learn the pros of preparing for life's pricey surprises

Prepping Pointers

Many of life's expensive surprises are quite predictable. Save yourself stress by being prepared.

WHY YOU SHOULDN'T AVOID IT

Things often wind up costing more when you don't attend to them earlyand you could find yourself scrambling for money.

We all have expenses that we kinda sorta know are loomingthe dentist mentioned that you'll need a crown soon, parking rates at your office are going up in the fall. Things like that are stressful, so you file them in the back of your mind, hoping they'll go away. Which of course they don't, and yet when they arrive, they somehow feel unexpected.

This happened to me last year. Because my husband and I pushed the thought of paying for our son's summer camp to the back of our minds, we weren't preparedand missed out on the 10%-off early bird deal. After that, we started our "I Know It's Coming" fund, an account into which I put about 5% of our income to cover those "unexpected" expenses. Here's how to think ahead.

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